Back in 2008, Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders invited me to write for io9.com about a topic they knew I had recently become fascinated with: science fiction novels published after the genre’s 1864–1903 Scientific Romance era, but before its (1934–63) so-called Golden Age. The 1904–33 era is one in which sf fans and historians have never been particularly interested. At first, I called this neglected period the Pre-Golden Age, but later I coined the phrase Radium Age — a moniker which I’ve popularized by writing about the era for the scientific journal Nature, Boing Boing, and elsewhere; and by reissuing 10 science fiction novels from that period under HiLoBooks’s purpose-built Radium Age Science Fiction imprint.

However, since then I’ve moved onto other projects. Still… Before I box up the Radium Age books and put them in the attic, I wanted to assemble a list of the 100 Radium Age science fiction novels that I’ve most enjoyed. Throughout 2015 and into early 2016, I did exactly that. Scroll down, to see the full list.

Please let me know what 1904–33 sci-fi novels I’ve overlooked! And, if you’d like to support the cause, please visit the HiLoBooks homepage; you’ll find Amazon links for all of our Radium Age series.

RADIUM AGE SCI-FI: THE OUGHTS (1904–13)The Oughts are a kind of interregnum period between sci-fi’s Scientific Romance era (1864–1903) and the Radium Age. Verne, Wells, Kipling, Arnold, Baum and some others who published science fiction from 1904–13 are much better known for their earlier novels; and their sensibilities were formed in the late 19th century. (Similarly, the Thirties [1934–43] are an interregnum between sci-fi’s Radium Age and the so-called Golden Age [1934–63].) Still, by the end of the Oughts — particularly in the annus mirabilis of 1912 — we can discern the Radium Age’s emergence.

And Even Though We Do This With An Ironical Distance

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